Innovative Dining Experience at Apricot Stone Restaurant
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on restaurants and the people who love them. Small businesses that have managed to keep their doors open have been relying on a steady stream of takeout, often powered by third-party delivery apps, balancing on razor-thin margins. Diners who once cherished the social ritual of dining out have discovered that the ambiance and community of restaurants cannot quite be matched by enjoying a meal at home, no matter how well-prepared.
A Unique Approach in Philadelphia
One Philadelphia restaurant is turning to video apps to recreate the dining-out experience for patrons who have no choice but to dine-in at home while social distancing. Apricot Stone, a family-run establishment in the Northern Liberties neighborhood, is using FaceTime, Duo, and Skype to simulate a full dining experience while you make your order.
How It Works
Customers can call Apricot Stone and make a dinner reservation. After the call, they receive the food and beverage menu via email. The Mediterranean selections include options like hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, kebabs, shawarma, and gatnabur—an Armenian rice pudding. The recipes were developed from Chef Fimy’s mother’s cooking, which she learned during her childhood in Aleppo, Syria, before relocating to the United States in the 1980s.
The Virtual Dining Experience
At the appointed reservation time, Chef Fimy’s son and front-of-house manager, Ara Ishkhanian, reaches out via video chat from the Apricot Stone dining room. The lights are on, music is playing, and you are “seated” at a beautifully set table. Ishkhanian attentively guides you through the menu as if you were ordering in person.
Ensuring a Great Experience
After your order is delivered by Apricot Stone’s staff, Ishkhanian reconnects on video to ensure everything arrived as expected. He even fills a water glass on-screen to complete the effect before logging off to let you enjoy your meal.
The Human Touch in Take-Out Dining
This innovative approach brings the human element back into take-out dining, offering a refreshing change for diners weary of social distancing. Furthermore, it helps keep the front-of-house staff employed during challenging times. While the video chat service is free, a twenty percent gratuity is added automatically to support Apricot Stone’s waitstaff-turned-delivery drivers. It’s a small price to pay for a taste of normalcy in a time that’s proved anything but.
